Looking back in time, both recent and past, one is confronted by corpses of Black men and women who pursued their convictions to the grave. Men and women willing to lay down their lives for the principles and values they believed in. These are men and women who realized that they needed to better the future of the next generations by fertilizing the tree of freedom with their blood.

A critical look at this phenomenon brings to question the main culprits behind the heinous elimination of these Black heroes and heroines. Indeed the West has time and again orchestrated these acts, but truth be told, our African leaders learned well from their colonial masters and have been key in the perpetual eradication of any dissenting voices.

A case in time is that of the then Kenyan minister of foreign affairs, one Robert Ouko and the most recent murder of Dr.Mbai, who were eliminated to appease the egos of a cabal of his fellow rogue colleagues. Going through the inquiry to his murder, one is struck by the brutality of the act. This is a trend that was employed with the likes of Patrice Lumumba and Steve Bantu Biko. In the slaying of Biko one should not only accuse the Apartheid government but also the others who were with him in the struggle. The same goes for Samora Machel's death, whereby his fellow Black brothers collaborated with the Boers in plotting his demise.

In as much as some people have acknowledged these heroes and heroines for their selfless acts, some are still ignorant of the substantial contributions such individuals made for the betterment of the greater masses. In other cases, some of us have forgotten them altogether and have even lost the messages that lead to their early demise. For example, how many people are truly conversant with Steve Biko's messages? How frequently is Biko accredited for contributing to the current dispensation in South Africa today? When the medical school at the University of KwaZulu-Natal was being renamed, wasn't Steve Biko's name suggested and shot down by other quarters? Point being made is that, although Apartheid cretins may have murdered Steve Biko, his fellow black brothers and sisters (especially those in power) have been incessantly cremating memories of him, in addition to his messages.

In conclusion, it has to be mentioned that our African governments have perfected the operationalization of the phrase "If you are not with us, then you are against us". But, this is a myopic, narrow-minded, retrogressive and Neanderthalic mode of handling issues that go against the grain of those in power. This methodology of managing opposing voices was learned from the White cretins who were experts in deleting lives that were a "nuisance" to their current and future ambitions.

Look at what happened to Black individuals who stood up and faced their governments on issues of civil rights. What happened to them? America is a good example of a place where the Black person was erased from the land of the living. Remember:

• Malcolm X
• Martin Luther King
• Marcus Garvey

But such killings are not only meant to silence the targeted parties, but are also meant to achieve another purpose of discouraging other individuals from adopting the same path and dissuading like minded people from vociferating their minds. We are seeing more and more youth standing up to be counted, especially in an African context that has extremely short changed these very youth. It is at such a time like this that the youth have to be bold warriors and stand with their own, refusing to be used as tools and puppets by the ruling class. The youth are clean and should not let their hands be stained with blood for the love of power. The struggle should be to understand the power that comes with clean hands, free from fear and guilt.